The 

Social  Evolution 

of  an 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/socialevolutionoOOhinm 


The 

Social  Evolution  of  an 
Indian  Tribe 


By  Secretary  George  W.  Hinman 

« 


Back  in  1890  the  soldiers  at  Fort  Bidwell,  located  on 
the  great  upland  plateau  where  California,  Oregon 
and  Nevada  come  together,  were  hunting  out  from 
their  hiding  places  in  the  lava  beds  the  last  of  Captain  Jack’s 
outlaw  band  of  Modoc  Indians.  Fort  Bidwell  was  named 
after  a famous  general  who  shared  in  the  fighting  but  was  a 
notable  friend  of  the  Indians.  After  his  death  his  widow 
came  to  be  very  widely  known  for  her  efforts  on  behalf  of 
the  California  Indians.  Twenty-five  years  ago  the  soldiers 
left  the  fort  and  teachers  came  in  to  begin  a program  of 
Americanization  for  these  first  Americans.  In  spite  of  the 
indifference  and  greed  of  many  white  people,  this  program 
has  been  definitely  successful. 

For  ten  years  the  American  Missionary  Association  has 
cooperated  with  the  government  boarding  school  and  the 


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superintendent  for  this  district  and  has  planted  a church  be- 
tween the  Indian  village  and  the  government  school.  As 
always,  the  home,  the  church  and  the  school  working  to- 
gether mean  an  advancing  civilization.  For  years  the  In- 
dians were  houseless  wanderers,  with  neither  right  nor  ability 
to  settle  on  the  land  claimed  by  the  white  men  and  build 
up  civilized  homes.  Few  are  now  left  of  the  low,  round 
huts  made  of  reed  mats  or  brush  covered  with  canvas  and 
gunny  sacks,  while  there  may  be  found  here  and  there  neat 
cottages  with  good  hay  ranches. 

The  houses  of  the  Indian  village,  built  on  the  edge  of  the 
military  reservation  through  the  encouragement  and  help  of 
the  superintendent,  are  becoming  a very  influential  factor  in 
aiding  the  Indians  in  the  assimilation  of  American  ideals. 
Every  year  the  number  of  such  houses  built  by  the  Indians 
for  themselves  increases,  and  every  year  they  are  better  built 
and  better  equipped  to  be  real  homes.  These  appear  like 
any  ordinary  cottage  outside,  but  inside  often  have  almost 
nothing  in  the  shape  of  furniture  except  a pile  of  blankets 
in  one  corner  and  a stove  in  the  other.  Spring  beds  do  not 
appeal  to  the  Indian,  and  he  is  slow  to  see  the  cultural 
value  of  tables  and  chairs. 

Superintendent  Gray  laid  out  the  village  with  good  drain- 
age, on  a slope  close  to  the  main  public  road  near  to  a stream 
flowing  from  the  hills,  with  fertile  irrigated  land  for  gar- 
dens on  the  flat  below.  The  village  has  supplemented  its 
water  supply  with  a community  well.  It  has  its  own  fair- 
grounds and  is  steadily  developing  a normal  community  life, 
though  the  people  still  need,  and  chafe  under,  the  wise 
regulation  of  that  community  life  by  the  government  official. 
Little  financial  assistance  is  required  from  the  Indian  Bu- 
reau except  for  the  old  and  the  sick.  Patient  guidance 
toward  American  ideals  is  the  essential  thing,  but  it  is  often 
a thankless  task  here  as  at  other  points  where  Americans 
and  Englishmen  have  taken  up  the  “white  man’s  burden.” 

The  Indian  Bureau  and  Superintendent  Gray,  recognizing 
the  essential  part  of  a community  church  in  upbuilding  a 


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PITT  RIVER  INDIAN  TEPEE 


real  American  village  community,  several  years  ago  gave  to 
the  American  Missionary  Association  for  this  purpose  five 
acres  of  good  land  across  the  creek  from  the  village  and  on 
the  side  toward  the  government  school.  The  church  was 
located  so  that  it  could  serve  both  the  adults  of  the  village 
and  the  hundred-odd  boys  and  girls  of  the  school.  It  is 
and  will  be  more  and  more  a community  center,  making 
definite  the  organized  community  life  by  furnishing  a place 
where  all  can  come  together  and  think  and  act  collectively. 

The  value  of  a church  building  for  the  expression  of  com- 
munity consciousness  as  well  as  for  common  worship  could 
not  be  better  illustrated  than  in  such  a case  as  this,  the 
evolution  of  a wandering  tribe  into  a settled  community.  It 
is  a social  development  well  worth  the  study  and  guidance 
of  the  best  thinkers  in  Christian  sociology.  The  possibilities 
of  the  church  building  are  only  beginning  to  be  developed. 


S 


MODOC  INDIAN  HOME,  CALIFORNIA 


As  many  as  two  hundred  have  gathered  for  special  services 
and  a hundred  from  the  village  are  commonly  in  attendance. 
Besides  the  regular  services  in  the  Indian  church,  the  school 
children  have  Sunday  School  in  the  auditorium  of  the  board- 
ing school. 

Even  if  there  were  nothing  more  than  this  regular  meet- 
ing of  the  adult  Indians,  with  the  singing  and  the  teaching  of 
religion,  it  would  be  an  important  factor  in  Americaniza- 
tion. But  they  themselves  take  part  in  the  church  services 
and  thus  develop  a church  consciousness,  even  though 
few  are  ready  to  “join  the  church”  in  the  ordinary  sense 
of  the  term.  They  are  all  a part  of  the  community  church, 
though  they  may  fall  far  short  of  some  of  the  accepted 
standards  of  church  membership.  The  church  is  planned 
to  serve  in  many  ways  for  community  interests  as  they  de- 
velop and  to  help  them  develop.  The  basement  has  just 
been  floored,  largely  by  the  work  of  the  Indians  themselves, 
who  are  steadily  accepting  responsibility  for  volunteer  ser- 
vice in  this  as  a community  enterprise.  This  basement  is  to 
be  used  for  the  New  Year  dinner  and  for  various  other  com- 
munity gatherings,  some  with  and  some  without  that  great 
social  agency — eating  together.  A lot  of  equipment  is  needed 
— a cookstove,  a sink  and  piping  to  bring  water  from  the 


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INDIAN  REED  TEPEE,  FORT  BIDVVELL 


Stream,  tables  and  benches,  dishes  and  cooking  pans.  What 
an  advance  in  community  life  when,  with  the  help  of  the 
Indian  women,  the  community  in  the  church  building 
can  feed  a large  company  with  cleanliness  and  order,  also 
inviting  their  white  friends  to  share  their  hospitality. 

But  community  dinners  will  be  only  occasional  events; 
the  basement  must  also  provide  room  for  work  benches 
where  the  men  can  make  the  cupboards  and  tables  and 
benches  for  the  church  and  for  their  own  homes.  It  may  take 
years  to  secure  all  these  things  and  get  these  activities  started, 
but  it  takes  years  to  change  nomads  into  a developed  Ameri- 
can community.  It  would  be  of  little  value  to  have  the 
material  equipment  without  the  cultural  development.  Up- 
stairs in  the  back  of  the  church  there  is  just  the  place  for 
a sewing  room,  if  a sewing  machine,  chairs  and  a little  stove 
were  provided.  Plans  for  quilting  bees  are  already  being 
considered.  The  Indians  have  made  a promising  start  in 
glovemaking,  and  there  are  many  other  possibilities  of  profit- 
able work  which  could  be  developed  with  proper  industrial 
teaching  and  guidance,  all  tending  to  supplant  gambling  and 
gossiping. 

These  Indians,  mostly  Paiutes,  are  good  workers  when 


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they  have  incentive  and  direction.  They  are  not  deficient 
in  skill  or  intelligence.  But  ideas  of  community  property, 
the  wrong  kind  of  community  ideals,  have  discouraged  indi- 
vidual initiative.  The  uncertainty  of  keeping  what  they 
have  earned,  on  account  of  the  greed  of  unscrupulous  white 
men  and  the  laziness  of  other  Indians  who  sponge  on  them, 
has  deprived  them  of  proper  stimulus  to  progress.  They 
arc  now  learning  to  work  for  themselves  and  to  expect 
others  to  do  likewise.  They  are  changing  from  a tribal 
economy  to  a community  life  based  on  the  achievement  of 
the  individual,  in  which  he  is  protected. 

Some  people  mistake  Indian  self-control  for  stupidity. 
Oftentimes  you  get  flashes  of  humor  which  show  that  these 
people  keenly  understand 
human  nature  as  well  as 
the  world  of  animals  and 
natural  forces  around 
them.  When  an  old  white 
man,  too  old  to  work, 
came  into  the  kitchen  and 
saw  the  Indian  cook  sit- 
ting down  to  rest,  he 
joked  her  about  being 
lazy.  She  knew  his  chief 
occupation  was  smoking  a 
pipe,  and  she  came  back 
at  once,  “Let  me  have 
your  pipe,  and  I will  work 
hard  like  you  do.”  These 
Paiutes  of  Modoc  Coun- 
ty, like  other  Indians,  dis- 
like and  despise  the  white 
man  most  when  he  loses 
his  temper.  Self-control 
is  to  them  one  of  the 
greatest  virtues.  They  rev.  axd  mrs.  j.  R.  shoemaker 


8 


cannot  understand  a superior  civilization  which  does  not 
demand  self-control. 

The  Indians  who  belong  to  the  Fort  Bidwell  Super- 
intendency, and  who  come  in  from  time  to  time  and  may 
be  reached  by  our  Indian  church,  include  the  remnant  of  the 
Pit  River  tribe  from  west  of  the  high  range  paralleling  the 
Nevada  border.  The  Paiutes,  who  make  up  the  largest 
number,  wander  far  over  Northern  Nevada  and  Southern 
Oregon.  Those  located  at  Summit  Lake,  old  Fort  Mc- 
Geary,  sixty  miles  east  of  Fort  Bidwell,  often  come  in  to 
the  village  and  the  church.  Large  numbers  come  when 
there  is  some  special  occasion  like  the  Indian  fair  or  the 
closing  exercises  of  the  government  school.  But  the  more 
there  are  together  the  greater  the  temptation  to  gambling 
and  waste  of  time,  and  the  greater  the  need  for  wise  di- 
rection of  recreation  and  social  activities.  At  such  times  the 
Indian  church  ought  to  have  a specially  strong  program  and 
leadership.  When  the  Indians  have  their  annual  fair,  card 
sharps  and  operators  of  all  kinds  of  gambling  devices  flock 
in  to  relieve  the  crowds  of  their  summer  earnings.  And 
there  are  other  exploiters  who  pose  as  friends  and  persuade 
the  Indians  to  give  up  their  money  in  hopeless  efforts  to 
push  claims  against  the  government.  The  thought  of  his 
“wrongs”  has  become  an  obsession  with  the  Indian,  and  he 
will  follow  anyone  who  offers  to  help  him  “get  justice.” 
Another  “Dr.  Cook”  has  been  selling  these  Indians  member- 
ship in  an  association  which  promises  as  much  and  produces 
as  little  as  the  oil  companies  the  North  Pole  faker  pro- 
moted. Unfortunately,  many  good  people  with  more  sym- 
pathy than  judgment  have  lent  their  names  to  the  support  of 
this  adventurer,  with  the  consequent  serious  embarrassment 
of  the  Indian  Bureau  and  the  missionaries  in  their  slow  and 
difficult  social  program  which  is  built  upon  the  acceptance 
of  responsibilities  rather  than  the  claiming  of  rights. 

In  spite  of  considerable  immorality,  among  these  Indians 
growing  out  of  housing  conditions  and  other  bad  social  cus- 
toms, they  have  a notable  pride  in  their  children  and  par- 


9 


INDIAN  CHURCH,  FORT  EIDWELL 


ticularly  in  the  purity  of  their  blood.  Some  of  the  worst 
fights  among  the  Indian  women  have  resulted  from  gossip 
that  their  children  have  white  fathers.  This  race  pride  is 
a part  of  that  imperative  need  for  self-respect  which  under- 
lies all  character.  With  incentive  and  opportunity,  children 
of  the  tribe  are  entering  and  doing  well  in  the  public  school, 
men  are  getting  deeds  to  their  property,  and  all  are  slowly 
learning  that  their  salvation  is  in  work  rather  than  in  claims 
against  the  government.  To  be  sure,  complaining  of  the 
superintendent  and  the  missionaries  is  still  a favorite  diver- 
■sion.  Nothing  is  so  obstructive  to  that  social  progress  of  the 
Indians  which  government  and  missions  alike  are  seeking 
as  when  these  two  agencies  can  be  made  mutuall}'^  suspicious 
and  critical  by  the  Indian’s  impartial  complaints  of  each  to 
the  other. 

Fortunately,  at  Fort  Bidwell  the  superintendent,  O.  C. 
Gray,  is  a Beloit  College  graduate,  with  social  vision  and  a 
faith  in  character  training.  He  was  a classmate  of  Dr.  Oscar 
Mauer  of  the  American  Missionary  Association  Executive 
Committee.  Probably  few  Beloit  men,  with  the  missionary 
traditions  of  that  institution,  can  wholly  ignore  the  missionart' 
responsibilities  of  their  work  in  the  world,  whatever  it  is. 

The  missionaries  appointed  by  the  American  Missionary' 


10 


Association  are  Rev.  and  Mrs.  J.  R.  Shoemaker,  who  have 
had  much  experience  both  in  frontier  and  city  work.  On 
Wednesday  nights  they  teach  Bible  classes  in  the  school- 
rooms of  the  government  school  by  invitation  of  the  super- 
intendent, and  have  just  presented  to  their  pupils  some  fine 
Bibles  given  by  the  American  Bible  Society.  The  familiarity 
of  these  Indian  children  with  the  Psalms  and  Bible  stories 
compares  well  with  that  of  our  best  trained  American  Sun- 
day Schools.  Besides  the  regular  Sunday  afternoon  service 
for  the  adult  Indians,  more  like  a big  Bible  class  than  a 
preaching  service,  Mrs.  Shoemaker  has  a kindergarten  class 
for  those  too  young  to  go  to  the  government  school,  and 
there  is  a great  deal  of  visiting  in  the  Indian  homes,  and 
even  more  coming  to  the  missionaries’  home  for  consultation 
and  letter  writing.  There  is  also  a big  correspondence  with 
friends  of  the  Indian  work  who  are  anxious  to  know  and  to 
help. 

One  church  sent  in  a small  sum  of  money  to  provide  a 


CIU'KCn  -VXD  .SCHO(U. -MODOC  IXDIAN'S 


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Christmas  for  the  Indians,  and  the  Indian  policeman,  who 
had  confiscated  the  loose  cash  in  a gambling  game,  turned 
it  over  to  the  missionaries  for  the  same  purpose.  With  this 
church  money  and  the  gambling  money  the  missionaries  felt 
sure  of  a Christmas  in  the  Indian  village.  But  in  addition 
packages  soon  began  to  come  in  until  the  spare  room  of  the 
little  parsonage  was  filled  with  stocking  dolls,  toys,  games 
and  picture  postcards,  besides  such  very  practical  gifts  as 
soap,  tooth  paste  and  pieces  for  quilts. 

One  thing  even  more  important  is  needed  as  a gift  to  these 
Indians  to  hasten  their  assimilation  to  American  Christian 
civilization,  and  that  is  personal  acquaintance  and  fellowship 
with  the  many  white  friends  who  are  anxious  to  help.  Fort 
Bidwell  is  so  remote  and  so  isolated  that  few  go  there  except 
on  business,  and  this  business  is  not  generally  the  uplift  of 
the  Indians.  More  personal  knowledge  of  conditions  secured 
by  personal  visits,  and  more  expression  of  personal  apprecia- 
tion directly  to  the  government  staff,  to  the  missionaries  and 
to  the  Indians  themselves  for  what  has  been  accomplished 
will  make  the  gifts  of  money  and  supplies  richer  and  more 
significant.  Please  put  Fort  Bidwell  on  your  missionary  map 
and,  if  possible,  visit  the  A.  M.  A.  Indian  church  at  that 
point. 


Oibf  Amrriran  fHtaaimtary  Aaaariatiau 

287  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York 


DISTRICT  OFFICES 


Eastern  District 
14  Beacon  Street 
Boston,  Mass. 


Western  District 


19  South  La  Salle  Street 


Chicago,  III. 


Pacific  District 
San  Francisco,  Cal. 
423  Phelan  Building 


Southern  District 
1 541/2  Auburn  venue 


Atlanta,  Ga. 


